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This
month, Go Gulf visits the South Pole, where some familiar Gulf
of Mexico-based companies thrive in one of the most forbidding
regions in the world. The United States Antarctic Program, run
by the National Science Foundation (NSF), extends an open invitation
to U.S. researchers to use its bases in Antarctica. In response,
specialists from universities and federal agencies flock to the
Antarctic each year to take advantage of unique research opportunities.
This transient community requires a good deal of support both
by sea and air, and companies like the Gulf's own Edison Chouest
and Petroleum Helicopters Inc. have stepped in to meet the demand.
Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (PHI)
won a competitively bid contract in 1996 from the NSF to provide
helicopter operations at McMurdo Station, the largest Antarctic
base, as part of the planned withdrawal of the U.S. Navy from
Antarctica. PHI sent down four aircraft and now supports projects
and camps within 120 nautical miles of McMurdo Station. Occasionally,
the PHI birds support operations at a distance of 250 nautical
miles from base with three AS350132 Squirrels and a Bell 212.
One of PHI's most popular research destinations is Dry Valleys,
an area without snow or ice between two large mountain ranges.
At Dry Valleys, scientists collect mineral samples and even dinosaur
bones.
Yet PHI only needed to slightly
modify its birds to operate in Dry Valleys and other Antarctic
research sites. Jack Hawkins, PHI onsite Antarctica Manager, said
that the skids are now equipped with bear claws, and extra heaters
were added to the cabins, but "Most of the time we don't even
use the extra heaters. The scientists have on so much clothing
that when they get in the helicopters, they would burn up if we
turned on the heat." However, the aircraft have to burn a special
AN8 jet fuel that will not freeze above -60 degrees centigrade.
From the beginning of the season in October until the end in February,
the temperatures range from around -25 centigrade to +3 centigrade.
According to Dale Johnson, Regional
Manager, International Operations, the US Navy once provided helicopter
transportation to the NSF with 6 aircraft and 50 men. In 1996,
however, PHI won the contract to provide the service using only
4 aircraft, 7 pilots, and 5 mechanics. Johnson said, "Many people
involved with the Antarctic program had their doubts that we could
do the job, but after four years everyone is extremely pleased
with the service that we have provided." While PHI conducts the
majority of operations from the McMurdo base, PHI pilots sometimes
participate in remote operations, camping out with scientists.
They simply park the helicopters on the snow and pitch camp. Hawkins
said "We have not had a problem with starting and flying the helicopters,
even when the overnight temperature has gotten down to -25 C degrees."
When the PHI crew returns to the Gulf of Mexico, they work the
rest of the year as regular offshore pilots. Just like in Antarctica,
only 100 degrees warmer.
Edison Chouest's R/V Nathaniel B.
Palmer, built in 1992 at Chouest-owned North American Shipbuilding
in Larose, Louisiana, was the first commercial U.S. icebreaking
and research vessel ever built. The ship was named after the first
American to site the Antarctic landmass in 1821 and is chartered
to the National Science Foundation. The 308-foot Palmer can accommodate
37 scientists and a crew of 26. It is equipped with an array of
high-tech computer, electronic, bio-chemical, and hydro labs and
features a helicopter pad and hanger, dynamic positioning, a heated
work deck, a hospital, a gymnasium, a sauna, and substantial housing
and laundry facilities.
The Palmer's 1.56 inch thick hull
is made of extraordinary steel immune to brittleness down to -76
degree Fahrenheit. The 6,000-ton, 13,000 horsepower vessel can
break ice up to three feet thick while cruising at three knots,
but the Palmer has taken on ice up to 18 feet thick. It manages
to accomplish this feat by thrusting its way onto the ice and
then falling through it.
Scientists onboard the Palmer spend
most of their time mapping the ocean's bottom, studying ice formations,
conducting meteorological and marine biology surveys, and doing
seismic work. Four other icebreaking vessels from other countries
join the Palmer during the Antarctic summer, but the Palmer is
the only ship operating in Antarctica most winters. Temperatures
at sea can dip down to 70 degrees below zero, though they usually
hover around 15 below zero.
This year, researchers onboard the
Palmer have studied circumpolar deep water and its effects on
the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and Pine Island Glacier and studied
the history of the Amundsen Sea Shelf. According to Mike Watson,
the vessel's chief mate, the ship stays in the Antarctic eight
to ten months out of the year, splitting time between Punta Arenas,
Chile and Palmer Station. However, the Palmer also recently made
a hazardous waste pickup from Palmer Station on its way home to
Louisiana for the first time in 8 years.
Also down south is the R/V Laurence
M. Gould, built in 1997 by Edison Chouest and named in honor of
Laurence McKinley Gould, second-in-command on Admiral Richard
E. Byrd's first Antarctic expedition of 1929-1930. The 76 meter,
ice-strengthened (Ice class ABS A1), multi-disciplinary research
platform was designed for year-round polar missions of up to 75
days long, and now supports research in the Antarctic Peninsula
region, supplying and transporting up to 26 researchers and staff
between Palmer Station and South American ports.
Edison Chouest vessels and Petroleum
Helicopters Inc. are no fair-weather friends. They have flourished
as well among penguins and scientists as they have among platforms
and roughnecks, demonstrating that our Gulf of Mexico offshore
gas and oil industry breeds companies that can take on the technical
challenges of even the most forbidding regions on Earth.
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